MESSAGE
| DATE | 2025-10-28 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Arming the Muslim Brotherhood in the name of NATO
|
https://www.timesofisrael.com/starmer-in-turkey-closes-11b-fighter-jet-deal-the-biggest-in-a-generation/
Starmer, in Turkey, closes $11B fighter jet deal, the ‘biggest in a
generation’
By Agencies
5–7 minutes
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that London has signed
an agreement to sell Eurofighter jets to NATO-member Turkey in a 10-year
deal worth nearly $11 billion, after talks in Ankara with President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“This is a really significant deal, because it’s £8 billion ($10.7
billion) worth of orders… These are jobs that will last for 10 years,
making the (Eurofighter) Typhoons, so really big for our country,”
Starmer said.
Britain’s defense ministry described the order, which would involve 20
Eurofighters, as the “biggest fighter jet deal in a generation,” saying
it would strengthen Turkey’s combat capabilities and bolster “NATO’s
strength in a key region.”
“This is the southeast flank of NATO, and so having that capability
locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for NATO,” Starmer
said in the Turkish capital.
Erdogan hailed the agreement as a new symbol of defense cooperation with
Britain.
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“We regard this… as a new symbol of the strategic relations between our
two close allies,” he said after the pair signed the agreement.
Last week, Erdogan held talks in Doha with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani, with Turkey floating plans to acquire some of its
Eurofighters.
This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish Presidency
Press Office on October 22, 2025, shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan (L) shaking hands with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al
Thani (R), during his official visit in Doha. (Turkish Presidency Press
Office / AFP)
Qatar ordered 24 Eurofighters in 2017, with the last two due to be
delivered this year. It moved to acquire 12 more late last year,
observers said.
Any such move would likely be part of the deal with London, which would
have to grant its approval for a transfer, analysts said.
The Qatari leader will be in Ankara on Tuesday for talks to clarify
certain outstanding issues, the Turkish official said.
The jets Britain was to sign over to Turkey on Monday were likely to be
those that had been destined for Qatar, Aaron Stein, president of the
Foreign Policy Research Institute, said, explaining that instead of
being sent to Doha, “they’ll simply be shipped to Turkey.”
Turkish court brands jailed opposition leader a UK spy
The Starmer visit was partly clouded by a spying scandal that erupted
late on Sunday, after a Turkish court charged Istanbul’s jailed
opposition mayor with espionage over his links to a Turkish businessman
allegedly spying for Britain.
Starmer arrived with his Defense Minister John Healey and Air Chief
Marshall Harv Smyth, the head of Britain’s air force, who were welcomed
by their Turkish counterparts, Turkey’s defense ministry said.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Britain’s Prime Minister
Keir Starmer (R) review troops during a welcoming ceremony before a
meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on October 27, 2025.
(Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Turkey has been looking to modernize its air force and has been pushing
to acquire 40 of the European-made fighter aircraft, which are jointly
produced by Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Turkish official told AFP that
Britain would hand over a number of jets on Monday, without saying how many.
Analysts said it would likely be two.
“Turkey and the Eurofighter is quite the saga,” Stein told AFP, saying
that Ankara had turned down an offer to join the European consortium
building the jets, focusing instead on the US fighter jet program.
“Ankara was invited to join the consortium or become an equal member a
few times, but they chose the F-35,” he said.
Washington booted Ankara from its F-35 fighter program in 2019, over its
purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system.
Erdogan raised the issue of the sale of F-35 fighter jets during a
recent meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
US President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White
House, September 25, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Last year Ankara secured a $7-billion deal with Washington for 40 F-16s
that have faced delays.
Turkish officials have said Turkey wants to acquire a total of 120
fighter jets — 40 Eurofighters, 40 US-made F-16s, and 40 F-35s — as a
transitional fleet ahead of its own KAAN planes’ entry into service.
The UK deal also came as Turkey vies for influence in a post-war Gaza
Strip. Israel said Monday it will not accept Turkish troops in the
enclave, while US leaders have said they foresee a “constructive role”
for Ankara, but would not force Israel to accept Turkish soldiers on the
ground.
Erdogan, despite his country’s previous warm ties with Israel, has been
an outspoken supporter of the Hamas terror group, and repeatedly
compared Israel’s campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
--
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